An AVM system is a system in which a monitor inside a vehicle displays an image (which is captured by a camera attached to the vehicle) around the vehicle, and thus enables a driver to perceive conditions around the vehicle with the displayed image and drive the vehicle.
In the AVM system, a screen is generally segmented into two regions (left and right regions). The left region displays an image captured by a front camera of a driving vehicle, and the right region displays a top view shown from on the vehicle, thereby enabling a driver to perceive the left, right, and rear conditions of the vehicle.
In displaying the above-described top view, a related art AVM system displays images, respectively captured by the front, rear, left, and right cameras of a vehicle, at the same ratio irrespective of the driving state or driving direction of the vehicle. In this case, the displayed images are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 in detail.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate ambient environment images captured by respective cameras and top-view images shown to a driver, in a related art AVM system.
FIG. 1 illustrates an ambient region (left drawing) of a vehicle which is visible with respective wide-angle lenses of front, rear, left, and right cameras attached to the vehicle, and illustrates an image (right drawing), which is shown by the related art AVM system, among images captured by respective cameras.
The related art AVM system appropriately edits a wide-region image (left drawing of FIG. 1) which is inputted through respective wide-angle lenses mounted on four cameras, and corrects the distortion of each of the wide-angle lenses, thereby generating a top-view image. In this case, the top-view image is displayed to be matched with the resolution of a monitor, and thus, among a plurality of images inputted through respective wide-angle lenses, only an image necessary for a vehicle is displayed, and the other images are discarded (see left drawing of FIG. 1).
FIG. 2 illustrates a top-view image which is shown to a driver depending on a driving state of a driving vehicle, in the related art AVM system. The related art AVM system does not consider a driving state or driving direction of a vehicle when outputting a top-view image, and thus displays the same image regardless of whether a driving state is a forward state or a reverse state and a driving direction is left or right.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a related art AVM system 320. The related art AVM system 320 receives image data on an ambient environment captured by a camera 300, and receives gear information of a vehicle from a transmission 310 of the vehicle.
However, in outputting a top view, the related art AVM system 320 outputs a certain image for an ambient environment of the vehicle on the basis of the received image data, with no consideration of the gear information of the vehicle. Therefore, the related art AVM system 320 displays a certain top view (where a ratio is the same in front, rear, right, and left) on a monitor 330 irrespective of the driving state or driving direction of the vehicle.
For this reason, a driver further requires information suitable for a driving condition or information on an ambient condition in a driving direction depending on the driving state or driving direction of a vehicle, but the driver cannot sufficiently obtain necessary information from an image shown in a top view because displaying only the same image. Also, as in the right drawing of FIG. 1, since an image further necessary for a driver is discarded, image data obtained by a camera is not sufficiently used.